This past weekend, Hillary Clinton conceded the Democratic Nomination for President to Barack Obama setting up a critical election between Obama and John McCain. We as Americans face one of the most critical choices in history in November, a choice that could define our country for generations. It is a choice between a seasoned leader who is defined by his past actions, sacrifices and decisions and an unknown, extremely charismatic individual who has burst onto the scene and appears poised to become the first black president in history. Since he is such an unknown, it is important to examine how Obama has risen so meteorically to his position.
The Obama campaign, under its slogan "Change We Can Believe In" has adopted the air of an inevitable movement, resulting from brilliant branding and political propaganda the scale of which we haven't seen in the United States. Increasingly, Obama's supporters have taken on the fervor of a cult, with websites claiming that Obama is the messiah or maybe just an enlightened being. Others claim that Obama communicates God-like energy and that he must be some sort of advanced soul. Most of this fervor has to do with Obama's extremely charismatic personality rather than his message. Obama has developed a cult of personality the likes of which are rarely seen in politics which is well described by Joel Stein. Obama's aura has created a fanatic following.
Perhaps, though, the more amazing thing about Obama's campaign is the air of inevitability that surrounds it. The Obama campaign has declared itself and taken on all the elements of a societal movement with the rather vague message of "change." The reason this is so astounding is that the media has bought into the Obama fervor is that the statistics don't justify this type of reaction. Obama is the first major party nominee under the current system to be nominated by his party without even winning the popular vote in the primaries. Additionally, Obama limped to the finish line, getting pounded by Hillary Clinton in all of the large, critical states and even losing in an upset on the night he declared victory. This poor showing hardly justifies the mandate that Obama claims heading into the general election.
Given the facts, it is critical to examine why Obama's campaign takes on the dimension that it does, and the answer combines Obama's cult of personality with the cutting edge propaganda of the Obama campaign. Obama's speeches are central to the propaganda of the campaign, as he speaks in front of tens of thousands of rabid followers in major arenas. These speeches, accompanies by clever viral videos have put Obama on the pedestal needed to achieve "messiah" status. This technique has been used before to great effectiveness, the best example of which can be seen in Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will." The critical question, though, will be whether or not the American people as a whole will be mesmerized by the propaganda of Obama's campaign or if they can see through the branding and make the best decision for our country's future.
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